What should my LDL be?
On this page
Under 100 mg/dL (2.6 mmol/L) at borderline or intermediate risk, under 70 (1.8) at high risk, and under 55 (1.4) for most people after a heart attack or stroke, in the 2026 US guideline. At low risk there’s no number goal. The range your lab prints ignores your risk.
What we’d do
Ask your doctor which risk band you’re in, then hold your LDL against that one line. Until you know your band, use under 100, the line for borderline and intermediate risk. And whatever your band, lower for longer beats a big drop late, so don’t wait for the number to become a problem.
Why the lab’s range misleads
Your report prints one line for everyone. A goal is more like a speed limit. The same car can go 65 on the highway and 25 past a school, and the road decides which. Your risk is the road.
The goals, by risk
| Who | LDL goal | Non-HDL goal |
|---|---|---|
| Low 10-year risk, under 3% | no number goal | no number goal |
| Borderline (3 to under 5%) or intermediate (5 to under 10%) | under 100 (2.6) | under 130 (3.4) |
| Diabetes, ages 40 to 75 | under 100, or under 70 if your risk is over 10% | under 130, or under 100 |
| High, 10% or more | under 70 (1.8) | under 100 (2.6) |
| Heart disease, not at very high risk | under 70 | under 100 |
| Heart disease at very high risk, which is most people after a heart attack or stroke | under 55 (1.4) | under 85 (2.2) |
Non-HDL is your total minus your HDL. Its goals sit 30 points above LDL’s, and it’s the better number when triglycerides are high (see what is non-HDL cholesterol?).
Where your risk number comes from
Your doctor works out a 10-year risk with the American Heart Association’s PREVENT equations, for adults 30 to 79 without heart disease and with an LDL of 70 to 189. The guideline then adjusts for things the equations leave out. Among them are a parent, brother or sister with early heart disease (men before 55, women before 65), South Asian or Filipino ancestry, an Lp(a) of 125 nmol/L or more, triglycerides that stay at 175 or more, menopause before 45, and an LDL that stays at 160 to 189. A coronary calcium scan can sharpen the picture for men from 40 and women from 45. This site never works out a risk percentage for you.
Is there a floor?
The guideline’s answer is that lower kept helping in the trials. In one large trial of a newer drug, risk kept falling even among the 24% of people whose LDL went under 20. That’s why the goal for very high risk dropped from 70 to 55 in 2026. If your LDL is 190 or more, the goals above don’t apply in the same way, and the first step is a doctor (see is an LDL of 190 dangerous?).
The guideline says its LDL and non-HDL goals “are back” to guide treatment. Put your panel into the check below to see where you sit against each one.
3 sources
- Blumenthal RS, Morris PB, Gaudino M and others, 2026 ACC/AHA guideline on the management of dyslipidemia, JACC, 2026doi.org
- The same guideline, full text, Circulation, 2026api.iscpcardio.org
- Labcorp, 2026 ACC/AHA dyslipidemia guideline updatelabcorp.com
